Some add-ons bolt new features onto games, and others make good games better, but the rarest mod is one that transforms a decent title into something truly outstanding. FirePower is what Combat Flight Simulator 3 should have been in the first place, and it is a must-have expansion for current or potential owners of that sim.

FirePower makes so many changes to CFS3 that it's difficult to know where to begin, but the included FirePower Series Certified Aircraft are arguably the best part of the package. The development team interviewed more than two dozen WWII vets who actually flew and fought in the aircraft of the period to get a sense of each plane's unique characteristics that goes way beyond raw stats. The end result is that the "certified" planes fly the way they are described in pilot biographies instead of "by the book," and each has a distinct personality. This is most evident in their stall behavior, which is modeled much better than stalls in IL-2.

There is a good mix of new planes to wring out, and the bombers are the best of the bunch. Although they were not used in the European theater, flyable B-29As are included and are great for what-if scenarios. B-17F and B-17Gs also are included, and all of the stations on these new American bombers are modeled in meticulous detail